THE PLACE needs a place

... and at present, it resides once a week in a 70s building, which has been and still is a community centre, with a theatre hall and various other rooms as studios and in the process of being occupied by other creatives in art and design and media and other gatherings... the library, has moved to dalston central, a super modern building in the regenerated square...

The Rose Lipman community and theatre hall is where THE PLACE pops up and pops down every friday from 6pm.

and to be exact in the ROLAND VICTOR ROYSTON - MINTON hall, complete with a kitchen, a huge ballroom, a stage, thick heavy and velvet red curtains, lights and a load of history, which i wish to unravel as we trot along in this new journey...

i was introduced to the space in october 2012, when i was invited to do the bar for MILLco's annual exhibition, sponsored by CO - OPERATIVE, in their new building in london's haggerston/ de beauvoir crescent...

i saw it. i liked it. i wanted it. i got it.

and as my short trip to voodooray's was paused temporarily, we'll see, for purely business reasons, i jumped at the opportunity, as i see the potential, for something interesting to commence and continue, by retaining the originality and the new and fresh and interesting...

i stripped down the menu to my my twisted classics and originals, so that i can get rid of stock i already had and start again with the new events.

i also dropped the prices down, for obvious reasons, but also, as a reaction to a brutal conservative system, which includes soaring prices and no service; well, not in my shop!

the wine has changed in politics and quality, too: carton boxes of wine equivalent to four bottles are mafia free, chemicals free and carbon foot print reduced and they are absolutely delicious, organic and precise in flavour, true to their grape. 

the prosecco comes in tap and its frizz is just right; fresh and bubbly and wonderfully seductive and very very italian.

i kept the estrella damm, bottled beer from barcelona, as it has been the most popular and very affordable.

there is still jam in the old fashioned, from apricot, to black cherry and victorian plum, rhubarb in the treacle, fig in the margarita and fresh sage in the vodka martini.

trying new vodka and gin from a london company is also exciting with homemade and purely distilled spirits, where bottles are to be kept for recycling and money/ resources saving reasons. bliss.

art and politics. cocktails and fun. stories intertwined. as it should be.

this is going to be my fourth week in the theatre and the traffic has been interested/ interesting and consistent. with regulars, who follow and new ones, who pop in, out of interest or sheer curiosity; word of mouth, has always been a good source of advertising after all and it's always lovely to greet and serve new folk.

last week, we entertained two beautiful boys, for their joint birthdays and we had a lot of fun... 

i'm putting my head down for more focus and re invention... after all, i've always done it my way and constantly learning...

THE PLACE is at ROSE LIPMAN building/ ROLAND VICTOR ROYSTON - MINTON hall, to be exact every friday from 6pm. the entry is free. watch this space for extra treats; hair styling, under the spotlight, dance for against violence to women, magic, theatre productions and the dyke march launch party...

busy bee and up for it...
join us.
in drinking and avant garde fun. music, too. from the 40s all the way to the 00s. 

peace and cheers. 

THE PLACE.
ROSE LIPMAN BUILDING 
43 DOWNHAM ROAD,
LONDON N1 5SQ.

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2013 is here and so is a fresh start

HAPPY NEW YEAR from THE PLACE!

we dusted and polished the tiled bar and steel surfaces. we set the bar with its bitters and spices. we got the bottles out and we chopped the fruit. we turned the music on. the red lights. the ovens and the dishwasher. we opened the doors.

the first week of the new year started well with the warmth of the after parties and the amount of sluggish sleep and a friend's birthday, who congregated a fine amount of male and female friends, who joined in to celebrate... as well as new folk, too...

and as i did last year and it is january, i introduced a small, but concise list of non alcoholic drinks, as i know that a number of folk don't drink alcohol, another, will be detoxing and others have ceased drinking for a month, in aid of a worthwhile cause; raising money for a charity to help cure/ beat cancer... fun and ethics go hand in hand and there is nothing strange about that...

my humble hub is in total support and solidarity...
tomato, mango, guava, cranberry, beetroot, carrot, lots of fresh ginger, lemon juice and fresh mint, spices, olives and celery...

we also discovered the virgin option of a voodooray daiquiri, tasting delicious without the rum and there is always a fair amount of fresh chillies to add to a bit of vavavoom to the drink... constantly mixing and experimenting, get it?

as lemonades out there, are so watery and timid in their tartness, i decided to make my own, squeezing eight lemons, adding cardamoms and fresh ginger and leaving to rest in the fridge.
as i decanted and strained it into a jim beam bottle, washed and delabelled, i enjoyed the thick pale yellow colour and the condensed taste, although, topping it up with ginger beer, made it a real lemonade, instead of a lemon juice... 

on the list for sure, as it was a success, consumed on a friday night with splendid company, while watching 007 instructing the waiter for a perfect vesper (james's secret is lillet. yum).

the creases are ironed continuously and the show must go on... in style, quality and love...

we are back the 9th. same place, same time, spot on fun.

cheers and many thanks for your support so far... you know who you are.

additional photography by charlotte harris ©2013

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catching up and THE PLACE

crikey! it is nearly the end of this thick, challenging, upheaval of a year, full of everything that life prescribes and entails: weddings, births, deaths (a lot of deaths), war (a lot of war), projects rising, businesses starting and failing to rise again, a lot of worry and hopefully, a lot of faith for the better, which a fresh year could bring...

i have been keeping myself above water, paying dearly or not for my independent decisions (how dare i?), my consistent refusal to 'play the game', my constant insistence to always go against the grain, my mistakes and shortcomings (i mean, when will i be perfect?), suffering loss, disappointment (a lot of disappointment), lack of loyalty, false accusations, as well as, praise, respect, love and support and surviving it all... phew and of course...

between having The Place and closing The Place (i shall explain), i have done done three pop us, for companies/ event that i have worked with before, UNRULY's (advertising company) summer party in the honourable artillery rooms, in the city of london, possessing the largest garden, with blended summer fruits, like watermelons, pineapple and the red berry fruits and mixed with rum, tequila and gin and various syrups and served in jam jars and tasting delicious, but still strong and full of spirit...
MILLco's (creative agency) annual design show in their brand new space in haggerston's de beauvoir, where co operative was the theme and i kept it simple, yet spot on with vodka based drinks, pear purees and ginger syrups... fruit galore and figs, too. o. yes, fresh chillies... in the mix and queer supermarket's (an happening organised at The Place and curated by one of my ex bartenders)  at vegas gallery in bethnal green, with my own mulled wine with chocolate, cinnamon and star anise and a huge spicy punch with more fresh fruit, more chillies and three types of rum, including kraken black spiced rum, which is divine... the beer was from barcelona and the wine from chile... hot stuff...

i pressed the shutter buttons of The Place, at 182, as The Place, which has now become THE PLACE, is mine, a concept and a forever pop up, till it finds its daily base, shut on friday 7 september 2012. i won't go into any details anymore, i have written it all on the page of my facebook group and as far as i'm concerned, it was the right decision, despite its brutality and the consequences (from my part) and the reaction of the others...

i know, finding a new place to trade and operate and do my thing, was not going to be easy and i was not going to give up, either.
so, the search begun, the faith continued to exist, although, i was hit, left right and centre and after my own self inflicted, yet temporary demise, by parties, who i had supported, trained, paid, accommodated and loved... alas... we only lose what we don't need and i'm too old and too intolerant to continue finished and/ or read chapters, outworn situations and fake relationships on any level... the art of letting go is very fine indeed and i'm yet to master, but i'll be damned if i don't practise it, meanwhile...

after all, i am called amazing, but do not be fooled, my dear readers out there, amazing people are not treated very well... however, i still have wonderful people around me and i still have me... i am also called powerful, which i intend to understand more and put it into good use... i work, i play, i reside, i reemerge and life continues cleaner, better, fresher, more different and simply fortunate and resilient...

so, my three months were spent looking for venues, negotiating about venues, resting, because i had not realised how exhausted i was from it all and that was partly my responsibility, for working myself to the bone with no rest, respite or a holiday, not to mention, all the alternatives, i was advised to adopt: yoga, meditation, massage and a lengthy face treatment, yes, please..., but no time..., losing friends, making new friends, socialising and continuing my external affairs, like The T club, DAD and a huge girls' party at london's scala, in between art shows, performances and film showcases and aids fundraisers, which have opened new doors for business all the way to summer festivals... as expected...

the search continues and the net has been thrown focused but widely, across the ocean of possibilities... and as i'm waiting and giving opportunities to the peeps who deserve it, doors are opening continuously for my choice and delight...:

voodooray's is a brand new late night pizza joint in the heart of london's dalston and two doors down from one of the oldest cinemas in the city: the rio...
the boys who own it, also own dalston superstore, four doors up, where i frequent and run The T club, too.

i had already visited them to try the huge pizza slices with a yummy crust and filling, to show my support and try something new...

they have a small bar on the side, which was there empty and ready to be filled with colour and sounds and clinking, whooshing, pouring and blending noises, slicing and pinching and tasting and drinking and music tailor made and sexy and nostalgic and fun and a bit of a family reunion, community gathering, new group forming and an avant garde list compiling and skill expanding and more money making and this is where i come in... 
a phonecall, became a meeting and as usual, the ideas started flowing, as i was asking questions and taking notes and i was inspired again, with feverish enthusiasm... so, i got down to work, researching form my i phone and scribbling with a sharpie on old menu scrap papers...

as my pop up is inspired by the prohibition years and the speakeasies from new york's 20s and 30s, with the relevant music, i decided to move a bit further in the years, but stay in new york... the cocktail hour of the 50s kept playing in my head, after seeing the obsessive love for tiles that voodooray's shares and combining it with 80s american movies, which my generation grew up on, since one of the slices is called giorgio moroder and fast and fun snack, the pizza, features greatly in the venue...

snap!

my list contains twelve cocktails, with the tequilas, the bourbons, the rums, the gins and the vodkas and two specials... a combination of the classics, with my own variations and concoctions, bringing a couple of mixes from the old place and giving the opportunity to peeps who did not make it there, to try them here.

they are fresh, spicy, warm, strong and not for the faint hearted. they are made with love and finesse. they are affordable, but respected. they are complex and simple, long, short, built, mixed, blended and double strained. they have names like green tiles and giorgio moroder and voodooray's daiquiri... and on the whole, they are good and fun...

i kept it simple with one member of staff, who i am training from scratch and is also a very close friend; she is progressing wonderfully, because she loves every minute of her time there...!
i have created a huge playlist with 212 songs from the 50s rock n' roll to the 80s synth, funk and electronica, especially, the ones which were part of film soundtracks, scarface, being the no1 moroder special (get it?)

The Place has become THE PLACE and i'm really excited to announce that its neon sign, the famous red triangle, is physically joining forces with V's green triangle (pleasant coincidence) officially on 3 januray, when i'm going to throw an official launch party, too.

we are back in business, more focused, more excited and full of ideas and energy... if you are in london and that way inclined, visit us for a stinger or two and a spicy and smokey tomato martini... to name but a few... with a great pizza slice and bowie's cat people on the speaker... among other tunes...

THE PLACE @ VOODOORAY'S 
open weekly
wednesday and thursday from 7pm.
95 kinglsland high street
london e8 2pb

follow us on twitter @THE_PLACE95

   

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The Place

may 2... i scraped my hair back in a bun, like i used to, as it was washed and wet and was not in the mood, or had the time to style it to my usual bouffant, put some casuals on and my fave adidas sneakers and drove up to the end of dalston and the beginning of stoke newington, to have a meeting, that would change the fate of the liquor bar to better and bigger things, in an expansive mode!


a place, which i had seen before, but only the downstairs bit, was up for grabs again and the upstairs also... and as my reputation precedes me and more folk are familiar and fans of my work and the fact that the world is also filled with good people, who wish to help out, because they recognise the potential, achieved though sheer hard work and the persistent love for the imaginative and alternative, i was offered the place... to take on, as mine, with my two silent partners on the background, taking care of detrimental stuff, so that i can get on with the juicy, creative ones!


i said yes, out of instinct and a deliberate lack of choice, as i needed to move on, extend, develop...


and i got to work that evening, with ideas pouring out of my head, as the most natural thing, ever! and it was!


i launched The Place, three weeks later, ready enough to begin its new, adventurous life!


continuing the ethos of the pop up for the avant garde and the different...
continuing the ethos of the liquor bar, with constant experimentation, but in a permanent base...


and discovering new impressions, methods, concepts...


so, i named it, list it, staffed it, decorated it, stocked it, blew a powerful air of freshness into its previously dull and dying building... and i turned the music loud...


i am currently writing this post, on one of my sofas at The Place and it is 4:05 am, also apologising to my readers for the lateness of this, only because i have been mentally busy, trying to pull everything together in harmonious organisation, this huge task, which, does not scare me at all, but has got me constantly thinking, plotting and devising and throwing my creative flows in it!


well worth it and about time, too...


needless, to say, the launch went really well, with bands, DJs and photographs and drinks and free and delicious olive tapenade on turkish falt bread for a welcome... 


i have had the most positive response ever from friends, ex colleauges, new folk, with the eagerness to help, support and spread the word! i was showered with congratulations and 'you deserve it' statements and their excitement was paramount...  and was kept busy by answering curious questions... in between my jumping behind the bar and shaking a concoction or two, or more and direct, greet and monitor...


fun! love! yumminess!


and the positivity continues... working on branding, logo refining, event organising, sound system installing, wine tasting, coffee training, dessert making, menu devising, staff training and so many other delights... the word is out and the baby is growing nicely, happily and with the love and nurturing of a lot of keen surrogate parents!


more to come... you can find all the details about The Place on facebook, as a page and as a group, with everything that has been going on so far...


https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Place/222367381208706
https://www.facebook.com/groups/140606229407133/


i am logging out, after sharing these news with a massive THANK YOU to ALL who have attended so far, my wonderful team, atalanta, eva, talulla and pierre, for being competent, fun, supportive and totally involved; watch this space of they will be coming out with; sal and jun, for the precious support; eddie, for the faith, ben and ludo at l'atelier, for the wonderful furniture, mustafa, for the delicious pizzas and all my friends, for helping me, with the tables and chairs every time, smiling...!


stav B's liquor bar is continuing as a pop up, selectively and in private events, meanwhile... welcome to The Place!


peace and cheers!


additional photography by zbigniew
crown on logo by DHD


The Place. 182 stoke newington road. london n16 7uy. uk
+44 (0) 207 275 9988
open every day from 6pm

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